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Document 255786

FRED ASTAIRE
About his new movie with Helen Hayes and his race horse.
Rare ALS: "Fred A.", 3p, 5x5½. No place, (1977 October 22). "Sat. 22". With envelope addressed by Astaire to: "Mr. George Penny/32 Kinvara Park/Navan Road/Dublin 7/Ireland". In full: "Thanks for your letter and the news of dear Dublin etc. I'm on location for a good dramatic N.B.C. T.V. 2 hour special with the lovely Helen Hayes and splendid cast. Interesting & should be very good-the way it looks so far. Its for four weeks and on time. The horse news is good. My 'Don's Music' ran 2nd at Santa Anita the other day, beaten a head by an older filly. Good performance. I couldn't get to see it. A lot of the animals have been coughing over there and a number of races have not filled, so my filly has been waiting and practicing quite a few weeks. She's a nice one. I have two broodmares in foal so that's something to look forward to. Glad to hear Jack is busy. Do give him my best & I'll write to him when he gets back from Germany. Ava told me he went there for a bit. All best to the family." Letter is lightly creased, not at signature, else fine. Envelope is lightly stained. Ava was Fred Astaire's daughter. The two-hour special he refers to is A Family Upside Down, which was televised on NBC on April 9, 1978. It starred Astaire and Helen Hayes as a retired married couple, Ted and Emma Long. The "splendid cast" included Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and Pat Crowley as their son and daughter-in-law and Patty Duke as their daughter. The 79-year-old Fred Astaire won his last major award for this special in 1978, the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama or Comedy Special. Hayes, Zimbalist and Duke were also nominated for their performances. Astaire's first wife, Phyllis, had died in 1954. In the 1970s, Astaire met and fell in love with Robyn Smith, a young woman who shared his devotion to race horses (she was a jockey). Despite the 45-year age difference, the two decided to marry in 1980. It was a very happy union, lasting the rest of his life. Astaire died at 88 in 1987. Two items.

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